It's no secret that the world is moving on from traditional print media. According to Statista Market Insights, print newspaper and magazine readership declined sharply from 2.1 billion in 2017 to 1.4 billion by 2025 and is expected to fall to 1.1 billion in 2030.
However, one organization is working tirelessly to ensure that the Word of God is not fully digitalized. The Gospel Tract Society pledges to bring the Word to all the world, to every creature through the printed page.
Phillip Buttram, current president of the Gospel Tract Society, is the son of the organization’s founder, Lester Buttram. He says that Lester received clear instruction in an encounter with the Lord when starting the ministry in 1926.
“Do not charge for my Word and never tie my Word to a denominational man's teaching. So that was it,” Buttram says.
After Lester received God’s instruction, he immediately began printing tracks with what money he had and sent them out. He came into some money that allowed him to buy his own small hand-operated printing press, and slowly his work began to grow.
Buttram explains the importance of paper tracts, pointing out that while the convenience of digital media is a luxury, the ability to easily delete pieces of media doesn't exist when it takes form on paper.
The society also receives testimonies, he says, that prove the power of print.
“I have testimonies where people have found a tract floating down a storm drain. Or out in midnight in the middle of a park, someone else threw it away, and the person picked it up,” says Buttram. “The Spirit of God will move on that person, and they will be changed instantly and receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.”
The society thanks God this year for 100 years of “planting and harvesting.” They are working only off the financial backing of donors to spread the Gospel and encourages others to do the same.
